Chronic Illness

Getting a flu shot is a small yet deeply profound act of Canadian community care

Canadians know the flu is here. We know that anyone, even those who seem healthy, can get it. And we know that getting a seasonal flu vaccination is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and the wider community from illness.

Where two worlds meet: The importance of cultural sensitivity in medicine

"I felt not like a physician but more like an interpreter – not of language, but of the space between two worlds: Western medicine and the cultural practices that shaped Lakshmi and Prakash’s life."

‘When doctors stop talking, patients fall apart’

When care is fragmented, patients become the glue holding the system together. We carry test results from one office to another, retell our histories again and again, and hope that someone will connect the dots before something important is missed.

Vulnerable seniors belong in care, not jail

Accused seniors with cognitive impairments are all too often punished for conditions beyond their control because the justice system lacks safe places to shelter them.

The colonial wounds on Indigenous women’s health

To improve Indigenous women’s health, there must be a drastic change to the health-care system and how we view health.

‘A lot of work to do, one conversation at a time’: New Year’s resolutions for 2026

With changes reverberating throughout our health-care system, we wanted to know what health-care experts planned to focus on for themselves in the year ahead.

Feeling blue? It’s not just you. Canadians live in a ‘winter depression hotspot’

Seasonal affective disorder or – the appropriately acronymic SAD –  will impact an estimated 15 per cent of Canadians during their lifetime.

‘How would the average Canadian know to ask?’ Men left in the dark on minimally invasive prostate cancer treatments

For many men, prostate cancer is not just a question of survival. It is a question of how they will live afterward. When the system fails to offer a full picture of the options available, it limits not only their choices but their long-term well-being.

No, women aren’t supposed to hurt: Misconceptions about reproductive health have serious consequences

If Canada is committed to gender equity and universal health coverage, then we must address the fact that young women’s pain too often goes unheard, not because they are silent, but because the world taught them to be.

The painful struggle: Transitioning to adult medical care with a rare condition

The difference between a safe, supported transition and a dangerous one often comes down to whether the system is a partner in your care – or leaves you to navigate it alone.

‘Children are kids first and sick second’: School adapts for terminally ill child

When a child’s promise of a future is abruptly shattered by a terminal illness, the child and its family have to decide whether to continue with school.

Medical students call for prevention and cessation initiatives with tobacco settlement monies

As medical students, we hope for a future where fewer of our patients suffer from preventable tobacco-related illness. A future within reach if we act now.

From Miami to Mississauga: The Golden Girls and Ontario’s $1.1B homecare plan

Whether in the fictional world of The Golden Girls or the real-life province of Ontario, the tension between independence and formal care is real.

Fail-first drug rules defy logic, deny timely access for people with rare diseases

Despite the recent approval of targeted biologics that can significantly improve quality of life, Canadians living with Myasthenia Gravis continue to face unjust policy barriers.

The MCAS care crisis: Canada can’t afford to look away

MCAS patients and taxpayers deserve better. The solutions exist. What’s missing is the political will to treat this like the crisis it already is.

Three tools clinicians use to debunk viral health myths

Canadians face a steady stream of confident health claims; some partly right, others wrong and risky – and some potentially fatal. Health care experts share some best practices to combat myths in clinic.

Caregiver calls for action to tackle cancer’s financial toxicity

Everyone agrees lack of money shouldn’t be a barrier to life-saving cancer care. But when cancer metastasizes to bank accounts it can reduce the odds of survival.

Barbie has an insulin pump and CGM too: Why representation in chronic illness education matters

I never had a Barbie with dark hair, brown eyes and an insulin pump when I was growing up. But today’s girls can. And that is progress worth celebrating.

Knit one, purl two on the way to mental health

Addressing rising mental health rates will undoubtedly require a range of different tools, both pharmacological and non-pharmaceutical.

Beyond pink and teal: Patient advocacy is not a morality play

Patient advocacy at its best is not about purity. It’s about presence. It’s about showing up, with all our raw, unpolished language and stories, to demand dignity for people whose lives are already heavy with suffering.